Welcome
Phil happily reacquaints himself with the Jensen Interceptor before entering a smart-buy advice marathon in London
As 6.3 litres of Chrysler E-series V8 rumbled into life I realised that it had been at least a decade since I’d last driven a Jensen Interceptor. Too long. But this month’s cover feature proved the perfect excuse to indulge in all of that leather-lined, torque-propelled grand touring opulence once again. I was determined to savour every last throb of horsepower, every precision click of its abundant toggle switches.
The Interceptor, particularly in toggleswitched, low-bumpered Series 1 form, is one of five cars selected by our classic car consumer champion Quentin Willson for the cover feature. They’re chosen because, for various reasons, they’ve fallen behind the market but, thanks to the rich ownership experience they offer, he doesn’t think that they will remain such good value for a whole lot longer. They represent an eclectic mix of tastes across a broad spectrum of budgets: the distilled sports car essence of the Lotus Elan, the effortless style of the Mercedes SE coupé, the irrepressible Italian vigour of the Lancia Fulvia and the cool Scandinavian leftfield thinking of the Saab 900 Turbo.
Driving the cars, meeting the owners and discussing favourites with Quentin was a fine day out, and shortly afterwards we met again at the London Classic Car Show for the indoor version. We were there to talk about his recent Smart Buys predictions and field questions from the knowledge-hungry audience, taking to the stage seven times throughout the four-day event. As the scheduled Q&A sessions came to a close there was always a queue of people wanting to know more, but our man enthusiastically spoke to them all, offering his time-served advice on the pros and cons of buying everything from a £2000 Mercedes SLK to a Ferrari Daytona. On one day, between the first talk and the last of the individual questions, we’d been talking for five hours straight. By the end of it I was ready to collapse into the Rollsroyce Camargue on our stand; Quentin seemed inexhaustible.
In fact, I don’t think he’ll stop until every one of you has made your own smart buy. And now that I’m rejuvenated after my little sleep in the Rolls, I’m ready to support him.
Enjoy the issue.